Living Gluten Free - It's necessary!!!

11 years ago in November my brother and I were diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, after my Mum previously being diagnosed some years before.

As a 17 year old being told you have to completely change your life is so hard

The blow was softened by the fact that my brother and I had our Mum there who had already been living as Gluten Free for a good few years.

When we were diagnosed there was barely anything out there in the shops, if you wanted bread it had to be homemade, which would only be fresh for two days, or you had to get it on prescription and to be honest that was barely edible.

So it has been nice to see supermarkets, restaurants and take aways finally catering for people with specific dietary requirements. 

Now for the technical bit, when someone has Coeliac Disease they can't eat gluten, why I hear you ask, because in the small intestine there is something called villi, villi are like little hairs that absorb the nutrients from our food, when you have Coeliac Disease gluten knocks these villi off so then the nutrients aren't absorbed which can lead to all sorts of problems.

So you can imagine how much it enrages me when people make comments, post blogs and stories and stupid little pictures saying that gluten free is a lifestyle choice and people are being picky. UTTER CRAP!!!!! 

For some people gluten can be as dangerous as nuts to a nut allergy sufferer, they can't even cut bread on a bread board used to cut regular bread.

Imagine doing your shopping and having to check the ingredients of every packet, imagine going out for tea and being so unsure about how the chips, sauce or gravy is cooked that you end up with steak and a jacket potato every time.

People who don't have Coeliac Disease have no idea how lucky they are to be able to eat anything they want, to be able to pay 80p for a loaf, anyone know how much an average gluten free loaf cost?? £2.50!!!! And sometimes that loaf is the size of a small hovis loaf.

Sometimes I get people looking at me like I'm stupid because I'm asking about the ingredients used in dishes and 9 times out of 10 they don't know what gluten free is. People seriously need educating, especially when working in the catering trade.

Now for a nice part, a little while ago my brother offered to treat the family to a Domino's, who do a gluten free base. So we put the order through online and waited for our yummy tea to arrive. About 5 mins after the order was placed he got a phone call from our local Domino's,  the lovely man on the phone explained that the meatballs my brother had chosen for his pizza contained gluten and what alternative would he like!!! To be quite honest I was gobsmacked at first, not only are they clued up enough to know which of their ingredients contain gluten they had the sense to phone my brother and bring it to his attention. Well done Domino's!!!!

So if you work in the catering industry, in a supermarket or even in customer care, do a little homework and educate yourself so at least we don't feel like we are the stupid ones.

Love and Hugs 

Cheryl xxx

The everyday pain of being in pain.

Ever have a night when you don't sleep properly? Ever sit down and you can't get comfy?

Ever feel like the pain you're feeling won't go away?

More importantly ever struggle to hold your head upright or drive without your hands and arms going numb?

Everyday I live with all these problems. What is the cause of this you ask, a minor car accident I had nearly 13 months ago. Let me go back in time a little bit....

On the 2nd April 2013 I was minding my own business sitting in a line of traffic, with my handbrake on, when suddenly there was a boom and my car went into the car in front. "Apparently" the women's foot slipped from the brake to the accelerator, load of bol***ks in my opinion. Anyhoo I was flung forwards then backwards and ended up in a whole load of pain. After going to the local walk in centre I was told I had "whiplash". Cue rubbing salt into the wound,  my car was written off with over £4000 worth of damage.

Through my insurance company I saw a private doctor who diagnosed whiplash and intermittent paraesthesia and sent me for physio, after having physio, which helped for a total of a week, my pain was back with a vengeance. I contacted my claim handler and he organised for me to go and see the private doctor again, who subsequently sent me to see an orthopaedic surgeon who is sending me for an MRI (which I'm still waiting for).

So back to the present, since the crash I've had to give up playing football :( , I don't get a full night's sleep as I can't get comfy and some days it's a struggle to walk kez, my dog. When im having a particularly bad day it's a supreme effort to hold my head up. I can't drive in the "correct" manner of hands at ten to two because my hands and arms go numb. Initially I was given diazapam and zapain, which only succeeded in making me high as a kite thinking I was walking on the bouncy mushrooms from a Mario game. My GP prescribed me amitriptyline to help me sleep, took it once and was hungover for 2 days, and tramadol for the pain which apparently I'm allergic to. Imagine waking up with your whole body itching, even your eyeballs and tongue, bloody awful!!!! I don't want to be popping pills all day and night though. Especially as I have a full time job supporting people with spinal injuries.

If you were to meet me in the street you wouldn't know because for the most part I'm suffering in silence, I loathe the fact that I have to ask people for help in everyday life, I find myself getting frustrated and grumpy due to lack of sleep and I just want this pain gone. People say "oooo but think of the money you will get" and yes that will help but right now I just want to be pain free, have a full nights sleep and feel like myself again.

I'm welling up as I'm typing this because it's so hard being like this when I don't want to be. Trying to ignore something that is persistently there and being unable to find anything that can relieve it. 
So my message is this, you never know what people are dealing with on a daily basis so   be that little bit nicer and have a bit more patience and you could just make someone's day have a little more sunshine.

Love and hugs
Cheryl xxx

The Paedophile Heaven that is Facebook !!!

It's safe to say we live in a digital age, mobile phones are no longer housebricks and computers have become just a screen that you touch.

There is also the social networking scene, Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, to name but a few. Mostly these sites are used for making new friends, finding old friends and pretty much sharing your life with the world. That's why the majority of people use these sites. 

I want to talk about the minority and in particular the minority on Facebook.....
 

A few weeks ago I was shown a picture of a little boy, approx. 8 years old, in his underwear which was only half covering him. This picture was on a page on Facebook and I, like many others, was completely unaware that such pages existed on Facebook. Naturally I couldn't believe it and upon clicking on the page I opened a drop box intending to report it, the images I saw made me feel physically sick and I will never forget them. The page has now been banned.
But that's not the end of the problem, in fact it is just beginning, and half the battle is actually with Facebook......

There are numerous pages on Facebook for Paedophiles which range from posed pictures to the most awful sexual scenes imaginable, some of the children in these images look no older than 7. So naturally these pages have been reported to Facebook in the hope they will be removed. Can you guess the reply?????
Within 2 minutes of reporting these pages people, myself included, are receiving a message from Facebook saying the page hasn't been removed as it doesn't violate their Community Standards.
Seriously???????
There are no words to express the feeling that wells up upon reading these ridiculous messages. It is taking countless reports for Facebook to even look at the pages and then hopefully remove them.

Google has recently announced they will be making it harder for people to view child pornography on the net, bit of a fruitless exercise when people can just go onto Facebook and set up a whole page or even a group dedicated to whatever their particular sick desire is.
Young children are being exploited, groomed and, for all we know, raped and Facebook are providing a safe and easy platform for it to be shared.
It infuriates me beyond belief that in this day and age these disgusting, vile people can conduct their sordid business in plain sight and when people do make a point of reporting it, Facebook just don't bother. Surely this should be taking priority over people getting banned for ridiculous things like a sarcastic comment or a questionable photograph.

People are reporting these pages everyday and we are trying to make it more wide spread so we can have more and more people reporting. So if your friend shares a link to one of the pages please take ten seconds and report it. And please share this post so more and more people become aware.

And finally, just food for thought, think about the pictures you're posting of your children on Facebook. If one of these sickos spots it they can copy and paste in 2 seconds. I know you shouldn't have to think like that but until Facebook pulls their finger out it might be wise to be extra vigilant.

Remember, keep sharing, keep reporting!!!!

Love and Hugs
Cheryl xxx
 

**Review** ~ O2 We're better connected. Or are we???

In the last 20 years or so technology has come on in leaps and bounds. I remember the first mobile phone my dad had, it was huge and the sim card was the size of a credit card. Now you can fit a sim card on your fingertip.

 With all the diferent offers around these days its hard to know if youre getting the best deal without phoning each individual company. And isn't it nice to know that your existing company give you benefits for being a loyal customer over the years.

That's the idea anyway....

I have been with O2 for the past 13 years, I started off as pay as you go because of the benefits, after 9 years I finally got my first contract, and the problems had only just started.

Customer service from O2 is a bit hit and miss, one day you can have someone who is extremely helpful and cheerful, other days you can get someone who is extremely rude, sounds bored and basically wants to get you off the phone as soon as possible. I have had to phone O2 multiple times for a variety of problems, the worst being that they took 2 lots of payment out of my account. I was offered a free upgrade. 

With great excitement I went to my local O2 store, where the staff were extremely helpful, I came away with my new phone but it was only when I got home I realised that there was nothing free about it, I was now paying £42 a month after a whirlwind of contracts and excited talk in the shop. I returned the phone at which point the staff were not helpful and I was ignored for over half an hour. After returning the phone I was told I couldn't cancel the contract so I am now on a sim only contract for 2 years paying £22 a month for unlimited calls and texts and 2gb of data. Whenever I tell people what I pay they are speechless and disgusted, and honestly I am too.

The coverage from O2 works when it wants to and in the last year I have had absolutely no coverage for nearly 24 hours at least 4 times, as my phone is an integral part of my job this has caused me great inconvenience and has led to problems with my employers.

What I find extremely annoying is every year I see my dad getting an actual free upgrade from another mobile phone company who he has been with for the past 16 years. 

So why is it that new customers to O2 get all sorts of benefits whereas existing customers get absolutely nothing. I have now refused to upgrade with O2 because I am fed up with never getting anything back for my loyalty over the years.

As I am writing this I am getting more and more angry with the way my loyalty is being ignored. Surely O2 realise that they are charging extortionate amounts for below average service and that their prices are not competitive, they're not even close.

To sum up, unless O2 can pull something amazing out of the hat when my sim contract ends I will be leaving O2 and making a formal complaint to the powers that be about the problems I've encountered and I may even decide to take it further.

If you want my advice avoid O2 unless you do really want to waste your money and time and you enjoy constant headaches and love being taken for a ride 

Love and Hugs

Cheryl xxx

**Review** ~ Pizza Express Gluten Free Pizza

I am not a food connoisseur, far from it, but when it comes to Gluten Free food I do know what I'm talking about.

10 years ago I was diagnosed as a Coeliac as was my brother. I had already lived with the diet for 3 years as my mum had already been diagnosed. At this time there was absolutely nothing in the supermarkets, and as for eating at restaurants it was a nightmare on a grand scale.

When someone is diagnosed as a coeliac there is a 5-10% chance that one of their children will have the same condition, me and my brother had to be the exception. 

In recent years more and more supermarkets and restaurants are starting to offer a wider range of gluten free products and meals. These products always cost more than the gluten containing products and that can be frustrating.
So it's nice when you go to a restaurant ( of a major chain ) and they are offering a gluten free alternative at no extra cost. I am always a bit dubious about trying new products because if they're horrible you've usually wasted a lot of money. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about at Pizza Express.
On arrival the staff were very welcoming and were very prompt at taking our order, it was with some trepidation that I ordered the gluten free pizza as I was unsure if I would enjoy it.
In due course the pizzas arrived and although the gluten free were slightly smaller than the regular pizzas they at least looked edible.
So then I took my first bite........

I was in heaven!!!!!
The base was thin yet doughy with a lovely crisp crust and tasted just like a pizza should.
The toppings were a perfect ratio to the base so it didn't fall apart when you lifted it up, I just couldn't believe it tasted so good and I wasn't being naughty eating something I shouldn't. 
This pizza was exactly how I remember restaurant pizza tasted and that is quite an achievement considering how temperamental some gluten free ingredients can be.
I have tried other gluten free products from some of the leading competitors and I would say that Pizza Express is definitely a contender for the best restaurant catering for a gluten free diet.
Our server asked if my brother and I enjoyed our pizzas and we both said they were fantastic but I wish they did gluten free pasta dishes too. Apparently I'm not the only person to mention this.

My verdict.....

Service 100%
Staff 100%
Restaurant 100%
Food 100% 
Overall 100%

I really enjoyed my first visit to pizza express and will definitely be returning in the near future, hopefully when there will be pasta dishes too.
 Ciao Bella
Cheryl xxx

Tattoos ~ Art?? or Not??

In recent years tattoos have become more of an accepted culture, employers are even being told that they can no longer discriminate if a current or prospective employee has tattoos,
But......
Are tattoos seen as art or not???
In my opinion tattoos are art, I feel that tattoos are an expression of a persons individuality and personality. As you may have guessed I have tattoos, 5 of them ( technically 6 because one has been covered over )



 

Ok so my first one was a Devil Tweety Pie, I've always wanted it :), my second was my ex husbands name in thai ( hence the lack of a picture ) ~ it seemed like a good idea at the time :/ Then I've got my Egyptian tattoo which says Granddad, I got this when I was 21 as when my granddad died when I was 12 I swore one day I would get a tattoo for him.
The butterfly on the inside of my wrist is the one that's technically 2 as I had initials there ~ again it seemed like a good idea at the time, and lastly my tribal star on the outside of my wrist, I got this because I wanted a star and I liked this one. Simple!!!
So, to the crux of the matter, how many reading this and looking at my pictures see art??
How many see it as I have defaced my body??
And let's be perfectly honest why should I actually care what anybody else thinks??
After all it's my body and they don't stop me from doing my job or living my life.
There are people in my life who don't like tattoos who will try and influence me to their way of thinking, that is not now, nor is it ever, going to happen.
I love my tattoos and I do have plans for more and my advice to people who don't like them.....
Don't look.
And....
Don't try to force your views, or prejudices, to become my way of thinking, you're wasting your time.

Love and Hugs Cheryl xxx

 

                                                                    

 

Organ Donation ~ A Matter of Life and Death

How many of you, when organ donation is mentioned, have thought "ooo no, I wouldn't want somebody taking bits of me", a majority of you I should imagine.

But how many of you, when faced with life or death, would accept somebody else's organs????

Again, I would imagine, a majority of you.

And finally, how many of you are actually on the NHS Organ Donor Register???

 

I would like to tell you a little story...

 

This time last year my uncle was gravely ill, he was in desperate need of a liver transplant, his children were aged 25, 20 and 12, the youngest being the only girl.

We were all watching my uncle deteriorate and become a shadow of his former self. Everyone was hoping and wishing that the call would come and that there would be a match. In September of last year that call came, and it was a match.

 After shooting to The Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Birmingham, my auntie had an agonising 8 hour wait while my uncle was in theatre. She received regular updates from theatre but it was with a sigh of relief that my uncle went to recovery, the operation having been a success.

My uncle is still on the road to recovery as that road is a very long one and may take a few years to complete, but he is living life to the full and cherishing every day and is thankful for the life he now has.

 

If it wasn't for the generosity and humanity of somebody, or somebodys family, there may have been a very different ending to this story.

 

So I would like to urge everyone reading this to Please, Please, Please sign the NHS Organ Donor Register. It only takes a few minutes to do online. Click here to sign up.

It could mean the difference between life and death for someone, after all what are a few minutes compared to someones life???

 

Love and Hugs Cheryl xxx